You can see how the trend in job openings parallels the Great Recession almost exactly:

From: St. Louis Fed

So too does hiring:

From: St. Louis Fed

And the layoff and discharge numbers:

From: St. Louis Fed

But I wonder if the “quit” numbers particularly provide insight. Think for a moment about jobs that people dislike. In healthy economic conditions, we are more willing to leave a distasteful job because an alternative is probably available. However, during a contraction and especially the Great Recession, our optimism evaporates. If you were working, you stayed there.

From: St. Louis Fed

If the quit rate trend is up, is that good economic news?

Sources and Resources: H/T to marketplace.org for an interesting JOLTS report. For the numbers, the St. Louis Fed’s graph are a wonderful resources here, here, here and here.